2021.01.31 Should I Light 'Em Up Lord

Should I Light ‘Em Up Lord?

1. What do they need to know? Lots of people rejected Jesus

2. Why do they need to know it? Disciples overcome rejection and see the humanity of their rejectors

3. What do they need to do? Either: Pray for someone who has rejected you for a week…or take a victim out for coffee just to make a friend

4. Why do they need to do it? The other person needs Jesus!

5. How can I help them remember? Tell someone their name…contact each other this week and ask if they’ve done it. Me

I want to begin by warning you. I’ve told many people in recent days that our major news outlets no longer seem to be driven by informing the public. Ever since the news departments became profit centers, our news organizations have become driven for ratings. So their primary goal is to get you to watch again tomorrow. Along the way, they discovered the quality of their news and research didn’t have much impact on their viewership. They discovered that enraging their audience drives ratings up. So, Fox, CNN, MSNBC … they seem to want to hack you off because research shows you’re more likely to come back tomorrow if they enrage you. Incidentally, it doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree with their perspective. It only matters that you get angry.

So here’s my warning: This sermon starts with a story that’s likely to enrage you. It certainly enraged me. But I’m not telling you the story to enrage you. I’ll be talking about how to deal with people who hack us off, so the story is a good ‘hook’ for you to hang onto as we look at these concepts.

It was Late Spring, 2012. The 11 and 12 year old students rode home on their school bus as usual. You may have heard or even seen the student cell phone footage of 4 Greece, NY Middle Schoolers taunting and ridiculing their bus monitor. The cell phone footage of 68 year-old Karen Klein listening to these little monsters lasted over 10 minutes. From simply calling her fat, to threatening sexual assault, these 4 students eventually bring Karen to tears by the end of the video, while they laugh at her pain.

I don’t know Karen Klein. I’ve never been to Greece, NY. I don’t know any of the students involved. But after watching the video … I could easily see myself making a trip to Greece, NY and … bashing some heads … um … I mean ... tying a knot in some tails … yeah, that’s a nice way of saying it.

I’m tempted to hate these undisciplined little pieces of human waste. After watching their video, it would be my pleasure to call down fire from heaven to smoke them like they deserve … and make no mistake, they deserve it.

I’ve personally been the target of teasing and hazing, but nothing that even approaches this level of extreme.

We

Have you ever been the target of someone’s hazing? How did you feel? What do you think of the people who tormented you now? Do you still carry that anger, that pain? You wanna call down some fire from heaven on them?

Unfortunately, the infinite God of the universe doesn’t allow us to exact revenge for such heinousness. Did you know Jesus was the target of similar rejection? How do you think His disciples reacted? How do you think He reacted? Let’s find out…

God

Luke 9:51–56 NASB

51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.

Keep in mind that the culture of Jesus’s day was extreme in offering hospitality to the foreigner travelling through the area. [Christian Resource Institute] Dennis Bratcher reminds us that these hospitality customs were more than just politeness. He writes: “Hospitality customs were a vital part of the culture of the ancient world. The people followed these customs as formal, even sacred, codes of conduct.”

Because the traveler was so vulnerable, the cultural norms dictated special treatment. Throughout the Bible, we see “strangers” being welcomed, fed and much more. In Genesis 18, Abraham even walks a little way with three strangers to start them on their way after a brief stop.

The author of Hebrews tell us: “Don't neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it.” (Heb 13:2 CEB)

These Samaritans have rejected Jesus because he’s headed to Jerusalem…meaning he’s Jewish…not Samaritan. He’s different! He’s a Republican, and Samaria was Democratic! He’s male and they’re female. He’s poor and they’re rich. He’s shabbily dressed and they’re wearing tuxedoes. Whatever analogy helps you put yourself in this scene ... and so the entire village rejects him, and his disciples respond the same way I probably would.

“Lord, you want me to roll up a newspaper and hit ‘em in the head until the paper isn’t readable?” “Jesus, you want me to make ‘em hurt? I can make their bus monitor cry!” “Hey…l got it…let’s start a fire in the village before we leave.” “No, then we get in trouble. How ‘bout we call down fire from heaven on ‘em. Then, they get what they deserve from God!”

And wouldn’t you love to know what Jesus told them? “Jesus turned and spoke sternly to them, and they went on to another village.”

Luke was a physician, and his Gospel is one of the most detailed books in the entire Bible. Yet we just get “Jesus turned and spoke sternly to them.” Some of your Bibles may record a possible answer, but the most reliable manuscripts don’t include that statement, so most translators don’t include it. Jesus basically questions their motive and reminds them, “the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them (Luk 9:55 NAU).”

You

So, I guess my field trip to Greece, NY is out. I guess I can put away my rolled up paper.

The Son of Man came to save lives … even THEM!

The people who picked on me … the people who picked on my friends … all targets of the grace of God … whether I like it or not.

Samaritans … Jews

Christians … Pharisees

Republicans … Democrats

Fox … CNN viewers

Right … Left

Conservative … Liberal

My family … Their families

The well off … the poor

ALL are targets of God’s grace!!

How does that affect me … and you?

If Jesus came to save them, what difference should that make to us?

Let me tell you what I’m going to do about it. I’m going to bless the bully!

This week, I’ll be specifically praying for people I see as “them” and people who have harmed me.

We

Would you be willing to join me in that?

You know what happens when we start working for the good of our enemies? The first thing that happens is that we stop thinking of them as enemies. Working for someone else’s good makes us more like God, and we end up wanting what’s best for them instead of holding onto our grudge.

We get healthier and they are blessed by our service. The world is made better by God’s people doing what He told us to do.

Why not join me in this little challenge? Do you have a bully in mind? Doesn’t have to be specifically a bully. We’ve all been rejected and hurt by someone at some point.

In the comments section, type “I will”. Maybe even the person’s first name.

As you look at those comments, if you see a person you know agreeing to pray for their rejector, contact them and encourage them. This is super easy on Facebook, just send a direct message to someone else who typed in a name and ask them how it’s going as they pray for their rejector.

Friends … This is how changing the world begins. We would love to see other people change, but the world changing begins with you and me changing, and helping each other through that process.

Let’s Pray!